The November 14 earthquake and subsequent aftershocks have led to numerous landslide dams being formed in North Canterbury and Kaikoura rivers and streams. Information on these landslide dams is available here. As a precaution it is strongly advised to keep away from all riverbeds north of the Waiau River in case there are any sudden releases of water.

Canterbury Water Kaikoura Zone Committee Meeting

Published: 24/07/2012 8:49 a.m.

The Kaikoura Zone Committee will meet at Memorial Hall on Wednesday 25 July for its monthly water management meeting.

At the meeting the committee will receive a number of presentations from experts and industry leaders relating to water issues in the zone.

The committee will begin with an update from the Regional Committee followed by a presentation on the proposed Land and Water Regional Plan from Environment Canterbury. The committee will specifically consider how the draft plan relates to its zone.

Next, the committee will receive a presentation on Environment Canterbury’s draft Gravel Management Strategy which was released to the public in late June. The draft Strategy was developed after discussions with the industry and key groups to inform decisions on resource management matters.

Its purpose is to set out the role of Environment Canterbury to sustainably manage gravel extraction from rivers for natural hazard purposes, and to allow for sustainable economic development without compromising safety, and cultural, social and environmental values.

The committee will finish the meeting by discussing its processes for engaging with the community and key stakeholders to get feedback on its draft Zone Implementation Programme (ZIP) for water management.

The committee finalised its draft ZIP at its June meeting and will host a series of community meetings in July and August. Members of the public will have a chance to come along and share their views on the draft ZIP and ask questions.

The committee hopes to be able to present a final ZIP to the Kaikoura District Council and Environment Canterbury in October. Once endorsed by councils, it will form the basis for the design and realignment of work programmes, for drafting regional plan provisions.

Copies of the draft ZIP and feedback forms are available here and at the meetings.

The Kaikoura zone committee was launched in mid-2011 as a joint committee of the Kaikoura District Council and Environment Canterbury.